Thunder Win Again Vs Jazz And Show Why They Are So Good

By Eli Friedman

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

TheOklahoma City Thunder defeated the Utah Jazz last night, 106-94 behind great play from Russell Westbrook who was two assists shy of a triple double (23 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists). Kevin Martin also added 19 points himself, and Kevin Durant had a solid 25 points on 8-13 shooting.

Last night was one those of those nights where you kind of just said to yourself, “That’s why the Thunder are the Western Conference Champs.”

Russell Westbrook just had a Russell Westbrook kind of night. Eight assists, seven steals, and eight turnovers. He just gets after it. There were at least three times in last night’s game where he would turn the ball over, then sprint back and get the ball back and score. It’s kind of inhuman for say.

Another big contributor to last night’s win was Kendrick Perkins. Perk just played an all-around awesome game. He did a wonderful job on Al Jefferson, holding him to only 16 points on 7-18 shooting. The big fella has a plus/minus number of +20 last night, the highest of any Thunder player last night. Perkins actually did something he usually doesn’t; which is score the ball. He finished the game with (ready for this)…12 points.

“Just trying to do my job, man,” Perk said of his role. “It’s not a team I’m going to be coming out and getting 10-plus points a night, I know that. So I just try and find other ways to get involved in the game. Whether it’s picking up full court with Russ or whatever it may be, to locking up the best post player that they got on their team. I just try and come out and have an affect on the game.

He went on to say: “Just check my win percentage since I’ve been here.”

Now, the Thunder have won their last eight of nine game, and it’s safe to say they are on a roll. Oklahoma City rolls into New Orleans on Saturday, and then travels to Brooklyn for a match up with the Nets.